So, the EFF has an article up on how to clear your search history at Google before the changes to the company's privacy policy takes effect. Most importantly, the hitherto sealed search hisory will now be shared with other Google services to provide better products advertising. Interestingly enough, when I got to the search history page, I saw this. Was this feature opt-in or something? Also, just to be safe, where do I go to delete or even just see the information associated with my Apple ID or my Live ID?

My Google history contains entries dating back to 2007... god damn. After some amusement looking through those, I'll be clearing it, and from now on watch out what I search for with Google... since now IXQuick and DuckDuckGo are around for those things that, as Google says:

"If you have something that you don't want anyone to know, maybe you shouldn't be doing it in the first place. If you really need that kind of privacy, the reality is that search engines—including Google—do retain this information for some time and it's important, for example, that we are all subject in the United States to the Patriot Act and it is possible that all that information could be made available to the authorities."

I've already stopped using Google for anything that might be even "remotely" questionable. I just don't trust them any more, and haven't since that statement. Thanks for the link to the search history clearing page, because otherwise... I probably would have known nothing about it.

At least there are some search engines that claim (and hopefully they hold to it) that they will make every attempt to prevent unnecessary collection of personal information of any kind.